 | By Ron and Louise Maynard (Mankato Church of Christ) Ron and Louise Maynard’s Fishers of Men Newsletter February 7, 2015 58117 238th Street, Mankato MN 56001 fomrlm@aol.com 612-963-2808 WEBSITE / FACEBOOK |
Greetings from St. Vincent
It seems impossible that almost half of our time in St. Vincent has elapsed. The 11 weeks of the course always go quickly, and this quarter is no exception, though we will be eager to be at home (briefly) and look forward to seeing our friends and family again.
Leadership meeting held at Kingstown Church of Christ building.
The Fishers of Men classes are very encouraging. I went to a leadership meeting of men from various churches on the island this morning at Kingstown. Elton Lewis, the new evangelist for the Kingstown church, reported that in January six persons have been baptized there. He attributed some of that growth to the Fishers of Men class, though none of the conversions have come as a result of Search for Truth studies, since those are just beginning. Several members there have spoken of the spiritual uplift and greater spirit of evangelism that Fishers of Men has brought to the congregation. We have a Bible study with an elderly lady that was arranged by one of the Kingstown members. That sister, Louise, and I meet with this 79 year old neighbor on Friday evenings for a Search for Truth study. We have a SFT Bible study tonight with one of the owners of the hotel where we are staying, and we arranged a Bible study today with the mother of one of the sisters who is taking the class at Sandy Bay. We took advantage of the opportunity to set up the study as we were buying produce in her open air vegetable stand.
Our numbers remain very constant from week to week. In fact, the class at Richland Park is one of the most consistent we have ever experienced. They have 24 who enrolled, 24 who have handed in homework every week, and 24 who attend every week (with the exception of last week when one sister was unable to come). We have 57 who have handed in homework at Kingstown, and 10 at Sandy Bay. At the end of Week 5, these 91 students have made 561 Developing Interest contacts and have taught 36 Bible studies. Others are attending the classes who have not handed in homework yet. This is due in part to the fact that we ran out of materials the first week (having planned for just 90 students), so some were late getting started.
Several have made comments on the Idea Page about the impact of FOM on their lives. One student at Richland Park has not been baptized into Christ as yet, but he made this comment: “This has made me learn a lot more about the Bible. It also makes me love God more and more each day by reading His word and also believing in Him. It has also made me want to be a better person and love everyone and always remember to pray and put God first in everything.”
Opportunities abound. I have preached at Sandy Bay and am scheduled to preach at Owia and Richland Park. I have been asked to present a lesson on elders at Kingstown on March 7th.
If you haven’t checked out the pictures that are posted on the Kingstown church’s website, please do so. They can be viewed [HERE].
Several have made comments on the Idea Page about the impact of FOM on their lives. One student at Richland Park has not been baptized into Christ as yet, but he made this comment: “This has made me learn a lot more about the Bible. It also makes me love God more and more each day by reading His word and also believing in Him. It has also made me want to be a better person and love everyone and always remember to pray and put God first in everything.”
Opportunities abound. I have preached at Sandy Bay and am scheduled to preach at Owia and Richland Park. I have been asked to present a lesson on elders at Kingstown on March 7th.
If you haven’t checked out the pictures that are posted on the Kingstown church’s website, please do so. They can be viewed [HERE].
Spring ClassesWe have classes scheduled beginning on March 30th in Alabama. That will give us 10 days to fly home, open three months of mail, see the family, do laundry, repack, make the trek in our van from Minnesota to Alabama, and set up our RV, which has been stored in TN. Classes are scheduled with the Flint Church of Christ in Decatur and the Curry church in Jasper. We are in the process of arranging a third class. If you know of a congregation in that area interested in a class, please let us know. | Can you commit to our work in 2015?We need your financial support, both to meet the regular expense levels set by our elders and to recoup the $9,800 needed for the St. Vincent trip. Please prayerfully consider this need. Funds may be sent to Cordova church of Christ, 7801 Macon Road, Cordova, TN 38018. THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHOSE PRAYERS AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT MAKE THIS WORK POSSIBLE. |
